Lecavalier, St. Louis thrilled to see Lightning win Stanley Cup again

Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis are basking in the glow of the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2020 Stanley Cup victory, delighted for the present and bullish for the future of the organization.

The two friends and former teammates were key cogs in the Lightning's run to the 2004 NHL championship, which until this Monday was the only one in franchise history. They played the lion's share of their careers in Tampa Bay, Lecavalier skating 14 of his 18 NHL seasons for the Lightning, from 1998-99 to 2012-13, St. Louis playing nearly 13 of his 16 seasons for the team, from 2000-01 deep into 2013-14.
"I've sent text messages to a few players and told them, 'Enjoy this, let it sink in, because you never know if you're going to experience it again,'" Lecavalier said on Tuesday, having just golfed a round of 79 despite a cell phone that buzzed good wishes from tee to green. "I've told them, 'You think now that you're young and you might win another three or four, but things change quickly in hockey. Enjoy it while it's here.'"
St. Louis is thinking of many of the same people. The 45-year-old played with a handful of those who formed the nucleus of the 2019-20 Lightning, including cornerstones Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, and he cherishes memories of those off the ice who tended to his health and cared for his equipment.
He spoke, too, of having gone to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final with defenseman Ryan McDonagh, when their New York Rangers were defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

"We lost that year, so I'm happy that Ryan gets to win it now," St. Louis said. "All the staff in Tampa when I was there, the trainers, they're the same guys. The Stanley Cup is going to bring a lot of joy to so many people. It's a good-looking trophy and it's a hard one to win."
Their careers ended elsewhere -- Lecavalier with the Kings in 2015-16, St. Louis with the Rangers in 2014-15 -- but both are best identified with the Lightning, revered in Tampa where St. Louis' No. 26 was retired to the rafters of Amalie Arena in 2017, a year before Lecavalier's No. 4 joined it.

With Tampa, St. Louis was a three-time Lady Byng Trophy recipient, twice won the Art Ross Trophy and won the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award once each. For his League-leading 52 goals in 2006-07, Lecavalier was awarded the Maurice Richard Trophy, named for the legend of the Montreal Canadiens, the team he worshipped in his youth.
They watched this week's Cup-clinching Game 6 against the Dallas Stars miles apart in different ways. Lecavalier enjoyed the first two periods with a group of friends in the team's dressing room at Amalie Arena, then went home to see the finish with his family. St. Louis missed the first period, on the ice in Connecticut for a son's hockey practice, then drove home to watch the final 40 minutes with his boys.
Both men have indelible memories of winning the Cup in 2004, of the engagement of a rabid fan base as hockey took root in the market and grew to become the hottest ticket in town.

"In 2004, fans were drawn in to hockey because we were winning and they fell in love with the sport," Lecavalier recalled. "Since then, the Lightning have been a building a good fan base. Football is huge in Florida but what Mr. Vinik (owner Jeff Vinik) has done with the organization, and in the city, has brought hockey to a new level. Minor hockey has gotten bigger. It's a combination of everything. A lot has changed, but the feeling of winning is the same."
St. Louis says the Lightning have been knocking on the championship door for some time. After last year's stunning loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round, he believes Tampa Bay seemed almost destined to go all the way this year, general manager Julien BriseBois having tweaked the roster to put the team over the top.
"There's been a building of a championship team but I feel they've had a championship-caliber team for many years," he said. "This year they made some moves, added the pieces they needed, but every year they've kind of put themselves in that position and it just didn't work out for them.
"To win, a lot has to go right. You need a lot of bounces, you need to stay healthy, get timely goals and timely saves, maybe an upset in another round to give you something where you match up better against an opponent. I just felt that no matter who they played in the playoffs this year, they were going to win. They were dominant from start to finish. There weren't many holes in their game.

"I think they learned from last year, a little bit of adjusting their style, playing less risky hockey. They've evolved into a team that can play any style. You want to open it up, they can. You want to play tight, they can. They have some physicality as well, so they won't shy away from anything, and they've got the goalie (Andrei Vasilevskiy). It was their year. I just hope next year they're in a position to have continued success. They have some guys who are in their prime and will be in their prime for many years."
Sixteen years later, vivid memories of winning the 2004 Stanley Cup remain, Tampa Bay having defeated the Calgary Flames in double overtime on the road in Game 6 to stave off elimination, then returning home to win a 2-1 nail-biter in Game 7. Both Lightning legends understand the emotions that the 2020 Lightning are feeling now and will forever.
"I wish I could have that feeling again because the night you win the Cup is something you will never feel again, unless you win it again," Lecavalier said. "This is a dream come true for all these guys now, as it was for me.
"This year's team is still running on adrenaline, which will last for two or three days, even longer. They have to think that you might win this only once in your life so you've got to take full advantage of it. And it's funny, after you win it once, you say, 'Wow, I want to win it again because it was so much fun.'"
Support for the team will soar to new levels, St. Louis said, the team's second Stanley Cup placed on a solid hockey bedrock in Tampa.
"The Lightning have done so much for me as a player, raising my number," he said. "I want nothing but the best for them. I'm glad that I'm part of the history of this team. That history will keep building and that's another big step for them. You don't have to be an Original Six team to build some tradition. I think Tampa is well on their way."